Christian Remnant - African Folk Church (Studies in Christian Mission)

643 Pages·2007·3.44 MB·English

by  Stefan Hoschele

Christian Remnant—African Folk Church
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Studies in Christian Mission
General Editor
Marc R. Spindler (University of Leiden)
Editorial Board
Heleen Murre-van den Berg (University of Leiden)
VOLUME 34
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Christian Remnant—African
Folk Church
Seventh-Day Adventism in Tanzania,
1903–1980
By
Stefan Höschele
LEIDEN • BOSTON
2007
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Photograph by Spencer Maxwell. Used by permission of Stanley Maxwell, Watford.
The person in the left is Mathayo Shengena, and the third and second from the left
are Esikia Wandea Kirekero and his wife Orpah.
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Detailed Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Detailed Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data are available on the
Internet at http://catalog.loc.gov
ISSN 0924-9389
ISBN 978 90 04 16233 4
Copyright 2007 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing,
IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated,
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Danvers, MA 01923, USA.
Fees are subject to change.
printed in the netherlands
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HOSCHELE_f1_prelims_i-xix.indd vi 9/21/2007 7:44:38 PM
CONTENTS
Illustrations and Maps ................................................................ ix
Foreword ..................................................................................... xi
Acknowledgements ..................................................................... xiii
General Abbreviations ................................................................ xvii
Periodical Abbreviations ............................................................. xix
Chapter One Introduction ...................................................... 1
Chapter Two The Launching Base: European Seventh-Day
Adventism ............................................................................... 21
2.1 The Historical and Theological Background ............... 21
2.2 The Missionary Role of European Adventism ............. 30
2.3 Preparation for Missionary Work in Tanzania ............. 40
Chapter Three The Birthplace of Tanzanian Adventism:
Pare ......................................................................................... 51
3.1 Beginnings ...................................................................... 51
3.2 Evangelism and Interaction with Society ..................... 64
3.3 Characteristics of the Emerging Adventist
Community .................................................................... 80
3.4 The Adventist Impact and the Signi(cid:2) cance of the
Pare Experience ............................................................. 90
Chapter Four A Second Foothold: Missions at Lake Victoria
4.1 Initial Stages ................................................................... 93
4.2 Missionary Activities and Their Results ....................... 107
4.3 The War Years ............................................................... 120
Chapter Five Consolidation and Beginnings in New Region
until 1960 ................................................................................ 125
5.1 Pare: Building upon the Foundations ............................ 127
5.2 Lake Victoria: New Beginnings and
Diverse Growth .............................................................. 144
5.3 Early Attempts at Missionary Outreach from Pare ...... 167
5.4 Ventures in New Fields: Mbeya, Heri, and Iraqw ....... 178
5.5 An Evaluation: Three Types of Growth ...................... 197
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viii contents
Chapter Six Dimensions of an African Adventist
Church Life ............................................................................. 201
6.1 God’s Holy Times ........................................................ 203
6.2 Becoming and Staying Adventist ................................. 222
6.3 Women, Men, Leaders ................................................. 233
6.4 An Appraisal: Between Adventist and African ........... 257
Chapter Seven Adventism and Culture in Traditional and
Modern Tanzanian Society .................................................... 259
7.1 The “Remnant Church” and African Culture ............ 259
7.2 The Circumcision Issue ............................................... 271
7.3 Marriage Issues ............................................................ 287
7.4 Contextualizing Remnant Lifestyle in an
African Setting .............................................................. 308
7.5 An Interpretation: Adventist Strictness in the
Context of Cultural Change ....................................... 337
Chapter Eight Tanzanian Adventists and Public Matters ...... 363
8.1 Between Separation and Support: Adventism in a
Colonial Context .......................................................... 365
8.2 Loyal Non-Involvement: Adventists and the
Tanzanian Government ............................................... 388
8.3 Testing Cases: Keeping God’s Commandments in the
Secular World ............................................................... 411
8.4 An Assessment: Between Two Worlds ......................... 427
Chapter Nine Popular Theology and Religious
Differentiations ........................................................................ 431
9.1 Adventist Theology in an African Context ................. 431
9.2 Indigenous Religious Movements in the Environment .... 469
9.3 An Evaluation: Adventist Faith in a Popular Garb ....... 494
Chapter Ten Majorities and Minorities .................................. 499
10.1 The Development of Adventist Folk Churches .......... 499
10.2 The Emergence of New Remnants .................................. 519
Conclusion .................................................................................. 549
Bibliography ................................................................................ 559
Index ........................................................................................... 601
Illustrations .................................................................................. 609
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ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS
Figure 1. Adventist Mission Stations in South Pare, 1913 ..... 56
Figure 2. Adventist Missions at Lake Victoria, 1914 .............. 101
Figure 3. Majita Church Building ........................................... 109
Figure 4. Activities in the East Tanganyika Mission,
1920s and 1930s ....................................................... 168
Figure 5. Reaching Out to New Rural Areas in the 1930s,
and 1940s: Mbeya, Heri, Iraqw .............................. 179
Illustrations
Figure 6. A Typical Out-School in Pare ................................. 611
Figure 7. The First Six Pare Adventists, 1908 ........................ 611
Figure 8. Prophetic Chart in Asu Designed by
Max Pönig, ca. 1918 ................................................. 612
Figure 9. Pare Missionaries to Sukumaland, ca. 1914 ........... 612
Figure 10. German Missionaries to Tanzania before
World War I ............................................................. 613
Figure 11. Pare Teachers with Missionaries Maxwell and
Bull, ca. 1928 ........................................................... 614
Figure 12. Mamba-Myamba Church Building ......................... 615
Figure 13. Robsons at Ntusu, ca. 1937 ..................................... 616
Figure 14. Morning Chapel at the Girls’ School at
Ntusu, ca. 1937 ........................................................ 616
Figure 15. Teachers at Ntusu Girls’ School, ca. 1937 .............. 617
Figure 16. The Church at Ikizu Mission .................................. 618
Figure 17. Early Literature Evangelists, ca. 1930 ..................... 618
Figure 18. Sabbath School at Ntusu, ca. 1937 ......................... 619
Figure 19. Majita Camp Meeting, 1949 ................................... 619
Figure 20. Tanzania Union Leaders, 1966 ............................... 620
Figure 21. Paulo Bomani in the early 1960s ............................ 620
Figure 22. The First Adventist Church in Arusha ................... 621
Figure 23. Listeners Queuing at Evangelistic Campaign,
Arusha, 1967 ............................................................ 621
Figure 24. The First Adventist Church Building at
Dar es Salaam: Magomeni ...................................... 622
Figure 25. Meeting of 600 East African Literature
Evangelists at Dodoma, 1976 .................................. 622
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